NHL betting trends, odds and predictions for Wednesday, April 26th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NHL Knowledge
Home side won seven of last nine Nashville-St Louis games; Predators lost four of last five games in this arena. Under is 6-2-2 in last ten series games. Nashville allowed total of three goals in sweeping Chicago in first round; they won three of last four road games. Under is 3-1-3 in last seven Predator games. Blues won seven of their last eight games but split last four home tilts. Five of their last six games stayed under the total. St Louis is 2-5 in last seven series in this round. Nashville has never advanced past this round, in three tries.
Anaheim lost three of last four games with Edmonton; Oilers lost three of last four games in the Pond. Under is 4-1-2 in last seven series games. Edmonton won seven of its last nine games, four of last five on road. Over is 3-2-1 in their last six road games. Ducks won its last eight games; they allowed total of eight goals in winning last five home games (under 2-1-2). Oilers are in playoffs for first time since losing Cup Final in 2006; this is unchartered territory for these players. Anaheim lost three of last four times they were in this round; Ducks are in playoffs for 10th time in last 12 years overall.
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Wednesday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview
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Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (-120, 5)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (45-29-8-4, 41-36 O/U): Nashville finished as the eighth seed in the West but turned up its game in the postseason with a stunning four-game sweep of the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks. Pekka Rinne posted his fewest wins (31) in a full season since 2008-09 but the veteran netminder turned back the clock against the Blackhawks, stopping 123 of 126 shots and coming within 5 1/2 minutes of posting three shutouts in the series. Nashville's No. 1 line features 31-goal scorers Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson flanking center Ryan Johansen, who tied for the team lead in scoring during the regular season and torched Chicago with a goal and five assists. The Predators also feature an elite blue-line corps headed by the pairings of Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis and P.K. Subban-Mattias Ekholm, who each logged at least 20 minutes in all four games versus the Blackhawks.
ABOUT THE BLUES (50-30-5-2, 35-39 O/U): The Blues were not as dominant in the opening round as the Predators, but they continued their stellar play since Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock behind the bench and needed only five games to dispatch the Minnesota Wild, which finished seven points above St. Louis in the Central. Like Rinne, Jake Allen had his share of rocky moments in net during the regular season - to the point where he was left home during a road trip just prior to the All-Star break. Allen set the tone against the Wild with a 51-save performance on the road in Game 1 and turned aside 174 of 182 shots in the series, boosting his save percentage to .942 since Yeo took over for Hitchcock. While St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko is the most dangerous offensive player on the ice for either side with 116 goals over the past three seasons, the return of linemate Paul Stastny from a month-long injury absence and the late-season addition of Vladimir Sobotka from the Kontinental Hockey League bolsters the team's balance.
LINE HISTORY: The Blues opened as -135 home favorites for Game 1 but that moneyline was quickly bet down to -120. The total opened at 5 and has not moved.
INJURY REPORT:
Predators - LW C. Wilson (Questionable, lower body), RW C. Smith (Questionable, undisclosed), LW V. Fiddler (Out Indefinitely, upper body).
Blues - C R. Fabbri (Out For Season, knee).
TRENDS:
* Predators are 1-6 in their last 7 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Central.
* Over is 4-0-3 in Predators last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
* Under is 5-1 in Blues last 6 overall.
* Predators are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings in St. Louis.
Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks (-130, 5)
ABOUT THE OILERS (51-27-5-5, 34-45 O/U): Coach Todd McLellan took issue with the notion that Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid was seemingly held in check with just four points (two goals, two assists) versus the Sharks. "It's not about winning a scoring title in the playoffs," McLellan told reporters. "Connor was tremendous. His line was excellent. They played with tenacity and wore the other team down so the other lines could go out and create some offense." McDavid collected two goals, five assists and a plus-4 rating versus the Ducks this season, and that's with five-time Selke Trophy finalist Ryan Kesler shadowing his every move.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (50-23-10-3, 29-37 O/U): After making short work of one Alberta representative, the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks would love to take the first step in repeating the feat against the other on Wednesday as they begin their second-round series against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf has been blistering hot with 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in his last 22 games overall. Although Anaheim's defense received a jolt from the offensive contributions of rookie Shea Theodore (two goals, three assists) in the first round, the back line is expected to be strengthened all the more by the potential returns of All-Star Cam Fowler and top-four Sami Vatanen. "They should be made available to us if they continue to heal the way they are. We're happy to have them back in the fold," coach Randy Carlyle told reporters. Fowler, who has been sidelined since April 4 with a knee injury, admitted to "no restrictions" following his second straight day of skating on Tuesday and Vatanen is ready to go after playing in just one game versus the Flames due to an upper-body injury.
LINE HISTORY: The Ducks opened as -135 favorites for Game 1 but that number was bet down slightly to -130. The total hit the betting board at 5 and has not moved.
INJURY REPORT:
Oilers - D O. Klefbom (Probable, flu), D A. Ference (Out For Season, hip), RW T. Pitlick (Out For Season, knee).
Ducks - D C. Fowler (Probable, knee), D H. Lindholm (Probable, undisclosed), C N. Thompson (Probable, upper body), D S. Vatanen (Probable, upper body), D C. Stoner (Out Indefinitely, abdominal), D S. Despres (I-R, concussion).
TRENDS:
* Oilers are 4-0 in their last 4 Conference Semifinals games.
* Ducks are 15-2 in their last 17 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Under is 9-2 in Oilers last 11 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 3-0-2 in Ducks last 5 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Oilers are 2-9 in the last 11 meetings in Anaheim.
NASHVILLE (45-29-0-12, 102 pts.) at ST LOUIS (50-30-0-7, 107 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NASHVILLE is 13-19 ATS (-10.1 Units) after a division game this season.
NASHVILLE is 11-17 ATS (-11.0 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
NASHVILLE is 11-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
NASHVILLE is 6-12 ATS (-10.5 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 109-80 ATS (+27.3 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 8-2 ATS (+5.0 Units) in April games this season.
ST LOUIS is 31-19 ATS (+10.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 23-17 ATS (+0.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 13-8 ATS (+4.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
NASHVILLE is 236-193 ATS (+27.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 25-15 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NASHVILLE is 17-8 ATS (+25.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 8-12 ATS (+8.0 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 8-7-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)
EDMONTON (51-27-0-10, 112 pts.) at ANAHEIM (50-23-0-13, 113 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
ANAHEIM is 20-7 ATS (+11.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ANAHEIM is 8-1 ATS (+6.4 Units) in April games this season.
ANAHEIM is 32-16 ATS (+12.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 22-11 ATS (+5.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
ANAHEIM is 17-4 ATS (+10.5 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
ANAHEIM is 24-14 ATS (+24.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
ANAHEIM is 25-15 ATS (+5.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ANAHEIM is 15-7 ATS (+7.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 32-18 ATS (+7.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 24-11 ATS (+8.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
EDMONTON is 8-3 ATS (+11.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 10-4 (+4.8 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 10-4-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.5 Units)
NASHVILLE vs. ST. LOUIS
Nashville is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing St. Louis
Nashville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Nashville
EDMONTON vs. ANAHEIM
Edmonton is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Anaheim is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Edmonton
Anaheim is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Nashville at St Louis
Nashville: 13-30 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +150
St Louis: 26-14 SU after 2 consecutive division games
Edmonton at Anaheim
Edmonton: 19-29 SU in a road game where where the total is 5 or less
Anaheim: 31-12 SU in home games